18 February 1922
Hogsmeade Weekend
11:30 am
It was a strange turn of events. Bram had received a letter from Tilly about cancelling their normal Hogsmeade date, something to do with plants. This was no shock. But then, the next day he got an owl requesting a date with Alice. He was happy to oblige. Anytime he could spend with his girls was a blessing.
She hadn’t specified the nature of their meeting. He had a suspicion that Everleigh would be discussed. He knew things were going downhill with her recovery, but he wasn’t privy to the specifics. It was fantastic seeing all three girls for Christmas, but Ever was so withdrawn, sad, anxious. It was heartbreaking.
The conversation with his daughter and imbecile son-in-law went the same way. He was a broken record. She needed help, but they refused to hear reason. She was getting worse and they didn’t care.
Bertram decided to forgo the Tea shop this time, since the last time he met with Alice, Allegra had shown up and ruined the day. So, instead, he planned to meet her at the candy shop for some ice cream sunday.
Finding a seat was difficult on Hogsmeade weekends, but he arrived early and found a spot in the corner with two seats, his back against the wall. He had a good view, so he watched as Alice came into the shop looking tired and disheveled. His worry increased tenfold. His forehead scrunched up in concern.
“Darling, it’s so good to see you.” He said, giving her a strong hug, one only the arms of a grandfather could deliver, and kissing her on the temple. “I’ve missed you. Is everything ok?”
Alice entered the shop, hugging her jacket tightly around her. It was always both hard and easy to leave Everleigh in the care of Hogwarts; on one hand, she didn’t trust anyone else to watch after her as closely as she did, but on the other hand… something she had not spoken outloud, and refused to, was that getting away from her sister helped her remember who she was.
When she saw her grandfather, Alice nearly crumbled into his arms. He kissed her temple and she closed her eyes, sighing as she breathed in his familiar cologne. It was a scent she cherished.
She didn’t immediately respond, and sat down the second she was able. Normally she’d be excited to have ice cream, but today… she just couldn’t. Her stomach was in knots and the following conversation wasn’t going to be an easy one.
Bertram had always been the only adult in her life she could be truly herself around.
Alice sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. She’d forgotten to do anything with it before she left for Hogsmeade, something that was incredibly out of character for her.
Normally, the Hufflepuff would nod and smile and tell him that of course everything was okay. But it wasn’t. Not this time. And no matter how much she tried to lie, he wouldn’t believe it. So why bother?
She shook her head, clenching her left hand tightly into a fist under the table, feeling her nails begin to press into her palm. That was a habit she’d had for years, though lately it had gotten much worse.
”I don’t know what to do… she's been worse since Christmas.” Names were not necessary. Bertram knew who she was talking about.
”I don’t know what to do… she's been worse since Christmas.”
Bram sighed. His heart knew this was coming, he just didn’t want to believe it. When the girls came home for Christmas, Bram brought Tilly to the Ravenstone Manor for a family dinner. Ever had been reserved, but more herself. There were smiles, she was drawing, playing in her way. Not like before the tower, but there was an element of ‘her’ being revealed. Then, after Christmas, something darker washed over her.
She was back to flinching. The hug he got before the holiday would have never happened after. He missed Ever’s hugs. She was such a loving little girl, full of life and smart as a whip. The shell of a girl he saw after Christmas was devastating.
“Did something happen? I’ve tried talking to your parents, but they won’t speak to me about her. They say she is fine. I don’t know what is happening in that house, but I am going to find out.”
The lovely waitress came over and brought them a cup of hot chocolate. Still a little cold for Icecream, he was glad it was on the menu. He took a sip, wishing Ever was there to enjoy it. She loved sweets.
“I know this is putting you in a horrible position, but is there anything you can tell me? Has something happened at home? Anything you can tell me will help us figure out how to help Ever. I promise to help in anyway I can.”
It just didn’t make sense. Ruth and Maevie had been in that tower as well, but both have recovered remarkably well. There were times where she seemed to be getting better, then she would go home and everything would change. The house and her parents were the common denominator. He just didn’t know why.
“Did something happen? I’ve tried talking to your parents, but they won’t speak to me about her. They say she is fine. I don’t know what is happening in that house, but I am going to find out.”
Alice clenched her jaws shut, flashes of memories entering her brain. The storm. The loud yelling. The obliviate she caught her dad trying on her sister. The anger radiating off of him. Their father had never been a really nice guy, but lately he was getting more and more… she didn’t even know the word. But the smallest things seemed to set him off now.
And their mother? She was downright useless. Alice’s brown eyes fell on the hot chocolate, her stomach too in knots to really want to drink anything at the moment.
“I know this is putting you in a horrible position, but is there anything you can tell me? Has something happened at home? Anything you can tell me will help us figure out how to help Ever. I promise to help in anyway I can.”
Alice nodded and refused to look at him. She loved her grandfather more than anyone else on earth, and she could trust him more than anyone else. Ever was a shell of her former self, and it was incredibly hard to watch.
She pulled a notebook out from under her thick winter coat and held it in her hands momentarily before setting it down on the table.
”I really thought that she’d be better after summer, but she… it got worse. And it’s confusing mostly, only because I’ve never seen dad like that,” she said, her fingers tracing the design on the outside cover of Everleigh’s journal.
”There was a storm and it woke me up, and I heard yelling… so I got up and went down to father’s office,” she said, her voice tight at the memory. ”He was so angry, and he…”
Alice shook her head, closing her eyes momentarily. ”I caught him trying to cast obliviate on her, and I was so pissed off.” Her brown eyes finally met the blue eyes everyone in the family had except her. ”He threatened us both, and then she started drawing…”
The drawings were unsettling and showed the mind of a girl too far gone.
After a moment of hesitation, she finally pushed the journal towards her grandfather. Then she sat back and clenched both fists under the table, trying to keep herself present.
With every word Alice spoke, Bram’s blood pressure went up.
”There was a storm and it woke me up, and I heard yelling… so I got up and went down to father’s office, He was so angry, and he…”
His mind was going wild with the what-ifs. Did he hit her? Scold her? Had she been breaking a rule? ”I caught him trying to cast obliviate on her, and I was so pissed off.” His blue eyes met heres. His heart rate increased. Anger bubbling below the surface.
”He threatened us both, and then she started drawing…” Alice pushed a journal across the table. One he had seen before, but never looked inside.
Bram opened the journal and his heart sank. These weren’t the drawings of a happy, well adjusted teenager. Each page brought a new picture and a new horror. His poor girl.
“So, your telling me that Thatcher,” he wouldn’t give him the title of father anymore. He hadn’t earned it. “Tried to cast a memory charm on Ever? What in the hell would cause him to do that?”
More questions were forming. Questions Alice wouldn’t have the answers for. Thatcher Ravenstone had never been his favorite, but when Margery moved away from home and came back married with a baby, there wasn’t much Bram could say about the matter.
“I’m so sorry darling. I will do what I can to help. This won’t change overnight, unfortunately. There are some legal things that will need to be looked into.”
Bram got to the last page of the journal, a scribbled picture of the fireplace in Thatcher’s study. The family picture, obscured by smoke like scribbles, with the broom resting on the mantle. There was no mistaking it for another.
“You said she has been worse since Christmas. Can you think of anything that happened? Was there another fight?”
Bertram was not someone that Alice had seen angry very many times in her life; sure, there was that time that Allegra hijacked their lunch to try to marry Tilly off to some guy twice her age, but that was probably the only time.
Until now. Despite how raw her own emotions felt from being surrounded by the darkness that loomed over her sister, she could feel her grandfather’s anger bubbling up. His normally bright blue eyes were turning darker.
“So, you're telling me that Thatcher tried to cast a memory charm on Ever? What in the hell would cause him to do that?”
Alice nodded slightly, and she winced almost in pain at the memory. ”She… was in his office. I don’t know why. She couldn’t tell me, and he wouldn’t say. But we were never allowed in his office. I don’t know why she went in there,” she said, trying to explain.
She could feel the increasing frustration vibrating off her grandfather. Alice kept her eyes trained on the journal, frowning at the drawings he saw.
“I’m so sorry darling. I will do what I can to help. This won’t change overnight, unfortunately. There are some legal things that will need to be looked into.”
Alice nodded a bit, wanting to have hope but also not wanting to get her hope up. She didn’t know what Grandfather could really do; their mother was stubborn as hell and did anything their father said.
“You said she has been worse since Christmas. Can you think of anything that happened? Was there another fight?”
She sighed and scratched at her scalp a bit. ”I don’t know… all I know is that mum took me shopping and Ever stayed home. When we got back, he was the angriest I’d ever seen him, and Ever…” Alice’s voice trailed off.
”I don’t know if she’s ever coming back…” Tears sprung to Alice’s eyes and she quickly wiped them away. Decorum, always. She sniffled a bit, though the tears were still coming. ”I miss my sister… I want her back,” she said sadly, her voice breaking a bit.
Trusting his gut was something that worked for Bram in the courtroom and in his everyday life. At that moment, Bram needed to trust his gut, and it said something was wrong. Ever was not getting the help she needed and the support she deserved.
While his brain processed the information, listening to Alice recount the events that led to more heartbreak, his mind began ticking off what needed to be done. Who to contact. What evidence would be needed? How to go around the parents to get Everleigh the help she deserved.
”I don’t know if she’s ever coming back… I miss my sister… I want her back.”
Her voice broke and it broke his heart in two. Bram moved to the chair next to Alice and took her face in his hands. Wiping away the tears falling down her face, he sighed. She was taking the brunt of this tragedy. Ever, for all her pain, seemed to be oblivious to the situation. Happy in her delusions and broken mind. Alice saw it all. Felt it all.
“We will figure this out.” He said in a soothing whisper. Kissing Alice on the temple and pulling her into a strong hug.
“I have some ideas on how to proceed, but I need to talk to a few colleagues. Before you go back to the castle, I want to make a duplicate of the journal, so I have this to show to the authorities.”
Bram flipped a few pages and his eyes landed on a heartbreaking page filled with scribbles. No picture, no definition, just dark black lines obscuring the typical white background.
“Let me make some inquiries. I will send word to the castle as soon as I know anything more. But Alice, I need you to understand. This is going to get harder before it gets better. Your father isn’t going to like me meddling. Your parents will fight this. I will protect you and Ever with everything I have. I will petition to have you both put into my custody, if that’s what you want. For Ever, I think it’s best. I can get her the care she needs, but you have a choice. So I need you to think about it carefully.”
The one promise he wished he could give her was what she wanted most of all. She wanted her sister back, but with the damage that had been done, Bram wasn't sure that was a promise he would be able to keep.
Alice closed her eyes as her grandfather moved to sit beside her. She felt him hold her face in his hands and wipe her tears away, but they just kept falling.
”We will figure this out.”
She nodded pathetically, and accepted the hug. She needed that. She tried so hard to be strong for Everleigh because if she ever did have more lucid moments, Alice had to be there. It was those moments that she lived for. Although now, to be honest, there were even fewer than there had been before.
”I have some ideas on how to proceed, but I need to talk to a few colleagues. Before you go back to the castle, I want to make a duplicate of the journal, so I have this to show to the authorities.”
Alice shouldn’t be surprised. She sighed at the thought of law enforcement poking around. Up until now, she told herself that it wasn’t that serious and that everything would be fine. Just like her parents had said. It was a very unhealthy form of thinking.
She watched her grandfather flip through the journal and Alice bit her lip. She’d waited too long to bring him into this. But that had only been because she honestly thought she could fix her on her own. She couldn’t. Headmaster Galen had shown her that.
Did that make some of this her fault?
“Let me make some inquiries. I will send word to the castle as soon as I know anything more. But Alice, I need you to understand. This is going to get harder before it gets better. Your father isn’t going to like me meddling. Your parents will fight this. I will protect you and Ever with everything I have. I will petition to have you both put into my custody, if that’s what you want. For Ever, I think it’s best. I can get her the care she needs, but you have a choice. So I need you to think about it carefully.”
Alice nodded slightly, digging her nails into her palms again. Her gut said to stay with Everleigh, but… losing their youngest would be hard on their parents. Could she really leave them too? She could already hear her mother asking why she was abandoning them.
The guilt trips were horrible.
”Okay…” she said, her voice a bit soft. ”How – how long do you think? And… what kind of care for her?”
As far as her question on how long… she didn’t know in what she was asking about; was it how long until he had custody? Was it until her sister was better? She really had no idea.
”Okay… How – how long do you think? And… what kind of care for her?”
Her voice broke his heart. Everleigh may have been the victim of the torture and abuse, but Alice had not come out unscathed. She lived for her little sister and by the looks of it, this was eating her up inside.
“I don’t know how long this will take. I need to get in contact with the right people, set things in motion. Being at the castle is the best thing right now, I’d be more concerned if you were home. At least at school I know you are both safe.”
The Easter Holiday was coming, but Bram hoped, when that time came, that Ever and Alice would be coming to his house, not Blackthorn Manor.
“As for her care, I am no expert. I will have her seen by a doctor as well as a therapist. We need to see if this is a trauma response, or something more permanent. I would ideally like to have her in my home, in my care. I will hire whoever is necessary. That being said, I can’t guarantee that my home will be the best place for her. For now, I think the focus needs to be on getting her the help she needs, whatever that looks like.”
He didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to believe it himself, but there was a very good possibility that an inpatient facility might be best. Somewhere she would get the proper care she needed, 24/7. But first, he needed to get custody of both girls, so that their father couldn’t hurt them further.
“I will contact my colleagues on Monday, see what they say we need to do. I will send you owls when I know more. We will get her the care she needs my Alli, We just need to do it legally, so your parents can’t take you back. I promise. I will do everything in my power.”
The nickname popped out, something he hadn't called her in years.
With another kiss on the temple and a strong hug, they parted ways. Alice back to the castle, Bram, on a mission.
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